


I've Got You, Brother

by GeekintheCorner



Series: Brothers and Bats [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brotherly Bonding, Dick Grayson and Jason Todd are Siblings, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Fluff and Angst, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I don't know, I throw canon in a blender and put it on high, Jason Todd is Robin, Jason is a nerd and no one can change my mind, No Romance, No Slash, No creepy shipping here y'all, Or they will be - Freeform, POV Jason Todd, Sort of an, almost no proofreading we die like roibns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-23 04:16:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23438902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeekintheCorner/pseuds/GeekintheCorner
Summary: In which Jason decides having a brother would be cool and goes to obtain one. Also, Dick realizes some stuff.
Relationships: Alfred Pennyworth & Jason Todd, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd
Series: Brothers and Bats [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1686169
Comments: 23
Kudos: 246





	I've Got You, Brother

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing. The title is taken from Kodaline's song "Brother" and all the characters belong to DC comics.
> 
> Also, enjoy some amateur angst with a little added fluff because I just can't help myself.

Jason knew what he was doing was stupid. Disregarding his night-time escapades this might actually be the stupidest thing he’s ever done. It could get him kicked out, he could get lost, for all he knows Richard Grayson is a massive dick and he’s on his way to a beating. But none of this matters, because that same man is the only other person in the world who has been Robin and lord knows Jason needs some pointers.  _ Or maybe, just maybe, having someone who knows what he’s dealing with because that person has gone through the same stuff is something Jason wants. Maybe he wants a brother.  _

He had waited months for the other boy to come to the manor, it seemed a given when Jason had first begun living with Bruce, don’t grown siblings usually come to see their parents every once in a while? After three months at the manor with no appearances by the wayward son Jason had begun to think maybe he had been wrong, or that rich kids just didn’t care enough to visit like some of the kids in Park Row had. A month later and a few overheard calls later Jason made up his mind. A week later and he was sneaking out of the manor in civvies with round trip cab fare to Bludhaven. 

It was a Saturday and technically Jason was supposed to be on an optional field trip to a natural science museum two blocks away, not knocking on the door to a midsize apartment in upper ‘Haven. He had already checked the cameras to make sure Richard was home alone, Jason wasn’t an idiot kid, and that he was indeed here. His hacking skills weren’t the best but Babs had taught him a few tricks and the security on these particular cameras wasn’t great, so there wasn’t any real reason for Richard to turn him away; except for the blaring reason of the older man just not wanting him there, but Jason had also been perfecting his puppy eyes.

Jason has just raised his hand to knock again when the door swings open. The man who opened the door can barely be called that, he looks closer to Jason's age than he pictured, though still quite a bit older. He looks exactly like the tabloids picture him, only now his black hair is ruffled and his clothes are far away from red carpet ready. 

Belatedly Jason realizes his fist is still in the air and he jerks it back to rest by his side. Now that he's here in front of the boy he's only heard about,  _ and sort of idolizes _ , he has no idea what to say. 'Hey semi-big bro do ya wanna hang out?' or 'Hi I'm your successor in every way, want to talk about it over pizza?' or 'Please come back, Bruce is driving me crazy.' Instead of any of those undoubtedly-bad-but-better-than- this options Jason just stands there opening his mouth and closing it again, willing some otherworldly force to speak for him. Where's the actual Force when you need it? He apparently stands there too long for the newly awoken vigilante because the man takes the initiative and speaks first. He smiles down on Jason and asks "Can I help you?"

Oh, he doesn't realize who Jason is.

"I'm Jason," Jason blurts out helpfully. It was obviously the wrong thing to say because the older teen reels back a little, his face blanking out before smoothing back over. 

"Ah," his face twists a little, "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to talk!" Jason blurts out again. Stupid mouth, talking on its own, where was it two minutes ago, hmm?

Richard narrows his eyes. "Does Bruce know you're here?"

"Sort of….?"

Richard sighs and opens the door a little more. "I guess you better come on in, I'll call Alfred." 

It doesn't escape Jason that Richard said Alfred and not Bruce, but he doesn't comment on it, that wasn't the reason he came. He scrambles in before the teen changes his mind and slams the door in Jason's face, he'd heard enough arguments to know he was capable of that.

He turns around as Richard clicks the door shut. "Don't call him!" 

Richard raises an eyebrow.

"Please, just not yet anyway."  _ This is it, the moment you've been training for.  _ Jason tilts his head up and widens his eyes as much as he can. Richard's lips twitch down and up at the same time, Jason's never seen anyone but Bruce do that, he wonders if it's learned, maybe one day he'll grow up and terrify small children with that exact face. The teen sighs again before he sets his shoulders in a straight line. "You have until I finish breakfast to convince me as to why I shouldn't put your as- butt in a cab and send you on your merry way." 

Jason relaxes and trails after the rapidly moving teen, obviously it's not to be a leisurely breakfast.

"I just wanted to say hi, I guess." Richard shoots him a skeptical look. "I mean we're, sorta, kinda like step-brothers," he snorts as he reaches for two bowls from a cabinet. "And, like, we've never met, which is f*cking stupid."

"Language." The teen snaps and then looks like he doesn't know why it came out of his mouth. Neither does Jason, but he doesn't comment on it. Waiting for Richard to speak again. 

"Well you've accomplished your mission, we've met. Fruit loops or Chocolate Pebbles?"

"What, no, I'm not hungry." He is frustrated though, he didn't come here to eat cereal and be dismissed. "And that isn't what I meant, I dunno, I guess I sort of hoped…"

Richard slams the cereal boxes down on the island counter. "Hoped what, that you'd come over here and suddenly we'd be happy, loving siblings? Newsflash Jason, that's not how this works!" Richard's face is screwed up in anger and this is not what Jason expected at all.

He spares a half a second for the sting of rejection to wash over him before he shoves away from where he had been leaning on the counter. He takes a few steps towards Richard, hands fisted at his side, only stopping when he registers the tense way the very dangerous man in front of him is coiled. He knows his face is turning red by the second, whether from embarrassment or anger he doesn't know, he doesn't care, he just wants to know why.

"Why do you hate me so much?! What could I possibly have ever done to you that would make you dislike me this much?" Jason's voice is rising and he should probably be worried about the neighbors, but he can't bring himself to care. 

Richard goes quiet for a long minute, staring down at Jason like he's simultaneously slapped him in the face and said something utterly stupid. Jason glares back, putting all of his confusion and anger into that one stare as if, if he looked hard enough, he could read what was wrong with him off of his predecessor's face so he could fix it. But he doesn't learn anything, the older teen's face doesn't reveal any hidden secret on how to win him over,  _ on how to make him like Jason. _

"I don't hate you, Jason." The words come out as a whisper that Jason has to strain to hear. The older teen sits down at the island counter heavily and runs a hand through his already messy hair. 

"Well then why don't you like me? I want to know so I can fix it." Jason feels his eyebrows knit together in confusion, usually when he's done something wrong there's some way he can fix it. When he accidentally broke his mom's old phone, he spent the last of his stolen money to fix it before she even realized it was gone. When he spilled red paint on his bedroom floor he had googled the steps to cleaning it and Alfred had never said anything. He could fix things, he wanted to fix this, but he has to know what's wrong with him first.

Richard’s face falls even more and Jason still doesn't know what he's done. He runs a hand down his face and gazes sadly at Jason. “God, I’ve f**ked up, haven’t I?” 

When he doesn't elaborate Jason prompts him with a "Effed up what?"

Richard's eyes snap back to Jason's face as if he'd forgotten he was there. "Well, you I guess, how I've treated you." He sighs again, like a man with the world at his feet just realizing he's dropped it there. "None of this is your fault Jason. It's mine and Bruce's, and I'm sorry you ever thought differently."

Jason's brows furrow again. "But what's his fault, what about me makes you mad?" Jason knows he's almost pleading at this point, but if he can salvage this, if he can just hold up through this conversation,  _ he might gain something worth it. _

"You really don't know?"

Jason shakes his head.

Richard chuckles, a dark shaded thing that makes Jason want to hide under his bed.

"I suppose it's mainly Bruce, and his lack of communication. I would have liked to have known he was adopting a kid before reading it in the newspaper." His face darkens a little. "And it really would have been great to be asked if Robin was up for a remodel." 

Jason winces a little and Richard grimaces at it. 

"I'm sorry." Jason swallows, because he really is, he never meant to be a rift between Richard and Bruce. Maybe it would have been better if he had never been adopted.

"No, no, you have nothing to be sorry for, I'm sure you'll make a great Robin, and I can already tell you've done Bruce a lot of good." The older teen sounds sincere and Jason perks back up, just a little.

"Really?"

Richard huffs a little, "Really. Honestly I think part of my manor avoidance was jealousy, which is stupid by the way."

Jason barks out a laugh. "What? You were jealous of me?  _ I'm  _ the one who should be jealous, what with Alf and B rattling on about you all the time."

"I guess we're just a couple of stubborn miscommunicating B raised kids aren't we?" The former Robin's lip tips up a little on one side.

Jason grins in return. "Just a couple of idiots."

Richard lets out a laugh of his own and sticks out his hand. "Let's start this over, shall we? Dick Grayson."

Jason's grin grows even more as he clasps his smaller hand with Dick's. "Jason Todd. Also Dick, really?"

Dick's grin widens until it seems his face can't hold it anymore. "Yep." He pops the P. "Now, cocoa pebbles or fruit loops?"

  
  


_________________________________

  
  
  


Five minutes later sees Jason shoving a spoonful of cocoa cereal into his mouth. This also provides him with potential blackmail as Alfred would be deeply ashamed to see the inside of Dick's cabinets.

"How d'ya deal with tha jokes?" 

Dick's nose scrunched up at Jason's manners, but he doesn't comment. Yet another reason for obtaining a brother. "Generally I laugh at them."

Jason gives him an incredulous look and Dick grins a little. "If somebody is original to come up with one I haven't heard yet I'd say they deserve a laugh."

Jason gives a little nod, swallowing before promising, "I'll work on that."

Dick laughs again and Jason decides he likes this laugh, the free one not the self-demeaning one from earlier. He grins along with him before they both shovel another spoonful of overly sweet cereal into their mouths. 

Jason straightens up a little in his chair once they're both finished "Does this mean I can come over sometimes?"

"Sure, I guess there are worse things than spending time with an obnoxious pseudo brother." He reaches over and ruffles Jason's hair hesitantly. 

"Hey!"

Jason straightens it out again, scowling, he spent ten minutes on that this morning.

Suddenly Dick perks up, "Hey what if we spent the day out?"

"What?"

"Like a movie and milkshakes or something. Isn't that new Hobbit movie out?"

"Uh, yes! Have you read the book?" Jason has, three times, and he loves it. He's actually downloaded "A Beginners Guide to Learning Elvish: Two of the most Common Dialects." He was on chapter three.

"I think I did sometime in middle school."

Jason gasps. "And you haven't read it again since?!" Dick just laughs.

"Ok, then let me just call Alfred so he doesn't have a heart attack and we'll go."

"Actually?"

"Yes,  _ actually.  _ I'm not the kind of person to say something and not mean it Jaybird."

And if once Dick goes to his room to change Jason does a little happy dance no one has to know.

  
  


_________________________________

  
  


"That was a disappointment." Jason deadpans as they sit down in a booth at Maggie's diner. Dick said this place has the best shakes in 'Haven and Jason is excited to try one.

"What? I thought it was cool. Especially that one orc guy."

"Azog. But that doesn't matter Dick! That got so much stuff wrong. Like what the heck with the romance? And Legolas was never even in the book! Just, agh!" Jason buries his face in his arms.

"What can I get you boys?"

Jason shoots up face glowing bright red at the sight of the elderly woman standing beside their table with a notepad. Dick chuckles and Jason shoots him a glare.

"We'd like two of the house special shakes please Nancy."

Nancy smiles as she hits that down on her book. "Will that be all Richard?"

"Yep, thanks."

Jason buries his face in his arms again as Dick lets out the laughter he had been holding in. Jason glares out from between his jacket sleeves. 

"Little bird, you are such a nerd. It's adorable."

He reaches out to ruffle Jason's hair again but Jason manages to dodge. In retaliation he grabs a napkin, balls it up and throws it at Dick's face. It lands on target, directly on the laughing teen's face. 

They both freeze for a second and Jason finds himself wondering if this is where his scheme ends and he's cut out of his new brother's life forever.

This is proven wrong a half a second later when a ketchup packet plants itself right between Jason's eyes, much to Dick's amusement. 

Jason locks his eyes with Dick's, "This is war."

From there it's a blur of flying napkins and condiments, neither party is willing to surrender until a polite cough stops Dick's arm from flinging a mayo packet across the table. Jason takes great joy in the fact that Dick is the one who flushes red this time.

“Your shakes boys.” Nancy raises an eyebrow at Dick as she sets down the cups on the now wartorn table. 

When Dick seems too embarrassed to talk Jason speaks up for the both of them.

“Thank you Ms. Nancy,” he chirps, shooting a smirk at Dick.

“Aw, you are quite welcome little man,” she says, placing the bill down on the table next to Dick’s shake.

As she walks away Dick hisses across the table, this isn’t over Little Wing, just you wait.”

And Jason certainly does not stick out his tongue at his older pseudo brother.

_________________________________

Jason waves as Dick speeds away from the manor gates on the awesome motorcycle he actually got to ride on. He had tried to talk the older teen into coming inside, but he could try again another day. Maybe the next time he visited, probably next month. In the meantime he can drop hints through text, he already has Dick’s number saved as Dickiebird in his contacts and he plans on going meme hunting before bed.

Alfred greets him at the door with a raised eyebrow and a cup of tea. 

“I really am sorry I lied Alfie, but you know I couldn’t have gone any other way.”

Alfred just huffs a little, though Jason thinks his eyes soften some. Just a smidge.

“Did you tell B?” 

“Do you think I should have Master Jason?” Alfred raises an eyebrow.

Probably, just would be the responsible thing to do, but Jason really hopes he didn’t. Instead of replying he turns his newly practiced puppy eyes on the butler. Alfred’s lips tip both down and up at the same time and Jason decides that is definitely a learned trait.

“No I did not inform Master Bruce of your deception, however I do think you should tell him of it yourself, he would likely enjoy the news that his two boys are getting along.”

Jason winces, there would be a lot of painful things about discussing anything that happened today with Bruce.

Alfred sighs, “Run along and get changed for dinner, I don’t want that mustard stained jacket anywhere near my white table cloth.”

“What?! Mustard?!” Jason searches his jacket for the offending stain. Alfred sighs again and points at his back. Jason pulls off the light grey zip up and finds a massive splattering of a yellow stain. Dick! He must have had an open packet in his hand when he patted Jason on the back before driving away. 

Alfred chuckles a little, “Go get washed up for dinner now Master Jason.” He pats him on the shoulder before turning back to the stove.

After Jason stops gaping at his jacket he goes up the stairs two at a time. Once he collapses on his bed he shoots a text to Dick.

**Jaybird:** im gonna tell Alfred about your cabinets

And if Dick’s contact name is changed to Big Bro a week or so later, nobody knows.

Of course nobody knows if Jason’s gets changed to Little Bro either. 

**Author's Note:**

> So this was written over the course of a few late nights, I think that probably shows. Also this uses whatever canon is where Dick doesn't happily give over Robin, AKA the better canon. I'm not really DC fluent so idk which one that is. I hope y'all enjoyed this anyway. I'm actually considering continuing this to maybe show how a closer relationship between the two would affect later events, ya know, THOSE events. Anyway, thanks for reading! Stay safe and sanitized!
> 
> Edit: Sequel posted.


End file.
